


The Nature of Strength

by Missy



Category: Little Red Riding Hood (Fairy Tale), Little Red Riding Hood - All Media Types, Rotkäppchen | Little Red Riding Hood (Fairy Tale)
Genre: Dark, Future Fic, Gen, Monster Hunters, Post-Canon, Psychological Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-23
Updated: 2014-10-23
Packaged: 2018-02-22 07:42:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2499977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missy/pseuds/Missy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's not a surprise when she grows up to be a warrior.   But the fright she can inspire in others?  Ah, now that can be shocking...</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Nature of Strength

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Ember_Keelty](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ember_Keelty/gifts).



> Written as a treat for Trick or Treat '14!

She was no more than fifteen when she hefted her first axe. It was in defense of the house, against a snarling beast – no wolf this time but a human turned wild, their eyes white as the newly-fallen snow outside the window.

This was the beginning of what would shape the rest of her years. 

The fourth one was an accident of bad timing. She spent days picking bits of gore from her hair and teeth.   
Her mother sat back in astonishment then. Ever afterwards, she would defer to Red, cringing back from her, as if afraid that she too would meet with the razor-sharp end of her daughter’s weapon. Soon she was buried by a linden tree in the yard, a victim of her own fear.

It was a memory Red could not endure. The house was haunted, and so she would strike out on her own. Adulthood came early, harshly, to her in one harsh rush; what could she do but shrug and tucked her axe into the picnic basket? She’d heard there was some trouble afoot in Cinderella County; something about wolves hassling some pigs. They’d probably pay well to have her rid them of their enemies. Red knew she would face the road ahead without shrugging away in fear like her mother.

For she was unafraid of wolves in all their clothing.

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfiction uses characters from **Rotkäppchen | Little Red Riding Hood** , all of whom are in the public domain. Nevertheless, the author acknowledges that the characters and base storyline are not her original property.


End file.
